ATLETICO MADRID are prepared to offer Celtic £20million for midfielder Matt O’Riley.
The La Liga outfit played Brendan Rodgers’ side in the Champions League group stages earlier in the season and the elegant midfielder obviously caught the eye of Diego Simeone, according to a report in the Daily Mail.
The ill-mannered Argentinian coach impressed no-one with his disgraceful antics on the touchline in the 2-2 draw in Glasgow and the 6-0 win over the 10-man visitors in the Spanish capital.
Simeone bemused his opposite number Rodgers with his lack of good manners at the end of both games where the customary handshakes between the team bosses is usually a requisite.
SMILES BETTER…Matt O’Riley celebrates his goal in Celtic’s 3-0 win over St Mirren in Paisley earlier this month.
Just when we thought we had seen the last of this unsavoury character, he has popped up with an offer of £20million for a 23-year-old Danish international with an awesome future ahead of him, barring, of course, any unforseen mishaps.
Atletico, who are working within the constraints of Financial Fair Play regulations, made a bid yesterday to remove O’Riley from the champions on loan until the end of the season with an obligation to buy in the summer.
However, it looks as though the Madrid club are now getting ready to up the ante and spark a bidding war for the elegant London-born performer who was snapped up by the Hoops from English third-tier outfit MK Dons two years ago.
Simeone and other interested parties are likely to be disappointed with Rodgers being afforded precious little time to line up a replacement for O’Riley who has hit the ground running and claimed 10 goals already in this campaign.
It’s a waste of everyone’s time to offer a mere £20million for the lavishly-skilled midfielder when you consider Arsenal were happy to shell out £5million more for left-back Kieran Tierney in August 2019.
Filipe Jota also cost £25million when he headed for Saudi Arabia in the summer.
